Bel A Cappella

Welcome to the home of Bel a cappella. We are a chamber choir that explores and enjoys choral music through performance. Bel aims to explore a wide variety of works in the selection of our repertoire and to foster and encourage the performance of Australian compositions.

Who are we?

Bel was formed in 1995, predominantly by a group of friends from Sydney University Music Society who had spent years singing with a big choir, and who wanted to try singing with a small one instead. We have travelled a long way since then and these days we come from a broad range of backgrounds - Choral, Jazz, Musical Theatre and Folk. It brings a depth of experience and a versatility to the choir which leads to great music.

What are we singing next?

	Our next concert is Choral Riches featuring the music of Bach, Purcell, Victoria, Brahms and Rheinberger at 2:30pm on Sunday 16^th August 2009 at Newington College Chapel, 200 Stanmore Rd, Stanmore

	Tickets: $25/Pension $20/Student $15. Enquiries: Online Bookings via What's on Sydney . [More Detail]

Previous Highlights:

The Australian premiere performance of the original 1888 score of Fauré's Requiem, reconstructed by Matthew Wood
A concert version of Purcell's Dido and Aneas with the Bel Chamber Ensemble on period instruments.
Handel's Messiah and Coronation Anthems.
Haydn's Nelson Mass, Missa Brevis St Joannis de Deo and Mass in the Time of War.
Aaron Copland's "In the Beginning" and Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms."
"Immortal Fire" - a fully a cappella concert ranging from Britten's "Hymn to St Cecelia" to Matthew Orlovich's "Tides of Ocean".
A stunning rendition of Mozart's Requiem.
A glorious christmas afternoon of Britten with A Boy was Born.
The lusciously gorgeous Rachmaninov Vespers.
The Austrlian Premiere of the Bruckner D Minor Mass.
Bach's beautiful St John passion.
An afternoon of Opera Higlights.
Living up to our name at the Sydney A Cappella Festival 2008.
Splitting our time between Newtown and Arcadia for Scala Enigmatica.

Please join our mailing list to be kept up to date.

	Recordings of Bruckner Motets
	Pictures of Lane Cove XMAS concert
	Newspaper Article about Vespers
	Recordings of Mozart Requiem
	Recording of Pie Jesu
	Singing at the Seymour for SACF

The guy with the stick....

Born in 1984 in Royal Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, Anthony Pasquill began his musical training in the choir of Lichfield Cathedral where he was head chorister under Andrew Lumsden, during which he gave concerts at Les Soeurs de l'Assomption and the British Embassy in Paris; a concert and Eucharist in Cologne Cathedral and also a full choir recital in Frankfurt Cathedral, Germany, performed for Yehudi Menuhin and HRH Prince of Wales. He also has had the opportunity of singing with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Michael George and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at Coventry Cathedral as well as Midnight Mass in 1995, both of which were televised by the BBC.

During his chorister career three CDs were produced; two for the Lammas label, Give Unto the Lord and Begone Dull Care, the latter for choristers only, as well as Britten’s ‘A Boy Was Born’ in collaboration with the Finzi Singers and Paul Spicer.

At the age of 14 he was awarded a Music Scholarship to Shrewsbury School and continued his clarinet studies with Christopher Swan, the piano with Peter Bradley-Fulgoni and organ studies with Robert Sharpe (Truro Cathedral).

As well as being Bel's Musical Director and Conductor, he is also the Assistant Chorus Master of Willoughby Symphony Choir. Since moving to Australia he has worked with the SBS Radio and Television Youth Orchestra and has performed with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Symphony Orchestra. In 2009 he will be assisting the surrealist two act Opéra bouffe Les mamelles de Tirésias by Francis Poulenc as well as Benjamin Britten’s comic Opera Albert Herring; both of which are being performed at the Conservatorium of Music where he is studying for his MMus in conducting with Maestro Imre Palló.

An accomplished clarinettist and pianist, Anthony received his Bachelor of Music Degree, majoring in performance and composition from Leeds University in the UK. In addition to studies in Leeds, Anthony completed a year abroad at the University of North Texas, studying composition, contemporary clarinet performance with Dr Elizabeth McNutt and conducting with Clay Couturiaux and Maestro Anshel Brusilow.

On his return to Leeds in 2006, he successfully auditioned to become the conductor of the Leeds University Union Music Society Chamber Orchestra and assistant of the LUUMS Symphony Orchestra. He was also involved with LS2 (School of Music Contemporary Music Ensemble (2007)) performing works by Helmut Lachenmann, Edgar Varèse and Darius Milhaud; the University of Leeds Philharmonia (2006-7) and the University Liturgical Choir. As well as University musical engagements he has also been assistant musical director of musicals on the Edinburgh Fringe and has performed at the Royal Opera House, Garden, London.

What's in a name...

We are "Bel a Cappella". People who know us refer to us as "Bel". One member of eastern european extraction and an appalling sense of humour sometimes refers to us as "Blah kerPlah" but that is just silly.